Indonesia: Refugees Die as Boat Sinks

By The Associated Press

Sept. 27, 2013

A boat carrying dozens of asylum seekers sank off the coast of Indonesia’s main island of Java on Friday, killing at least 21 people, an official said. Twenty five people were rescued, and the search for survivors was continuing. Some survivors told officials that more than 100 asylum seekers from Lebanon, Pakistan and Iraq were believed to be aboard the boat, but the exact number of passengers was not known, said Lt. Col Kusuma Bakti. Survivors said the boat had been headed for Australia’s Christmas Island.